January 3, 2017 Tuesday Night SmackDown
The January 3, 2017 Edition of Smackdown Live is a Professional wrestling television show of the WWE's Smackdown brand, which took place on January 3, 2017 at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida. Episode summary Maryse slapped Dean Ambrose Ahead of his Intercontinental Championship defense against Dean Ambrose, The Miz and Maryse kicked off SmackDown LIVE still looking for an apology for Renee Young’s now infamous slap to The A-Lister two weeks ago. However, all the A-Lister got for his efforts was a very perturbed Lunatic Fringe, who emerged looking for a fight. Maryse quickly stood in the way of her husband and slapped Ambrose as Miz watched on with glee from the apron. Becky Lynch vs La Luchadora The curious case of La Luchadora continues on SmackDown LIVE. Two weeks ago, Becky Lynch disguised herself as La Luchadora to defeat SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss in a non-title match. However, last week, another La Luchadora showed up to cost Lynch her SmackDown Women’s Championship Match against The Wicked Witch of WWE. This week, it would be simple, Lynch would take on La Luchadora straight up … or, at least we thought. As the contest wore on, Lynch began to gain momentum and picked up the victory with the Dis-arm-her after La Luchadora reemerged from underneath the ring. However, following the contest, Lynch was able to pry the mask off the “new” La Luchadora to reveal none other than SmackDown Women’s Champion Alexa Bliss. Shockingly though, another La Luchadora appeared, dressed exactly like the first. Now this “new” La Luchadora and Bliss were able to double team and ground The Irish Lass Kicker. How do you say “the plot thickens” in Spanish? Carmella vs Aliyah The odd, dare we say, romance (?) between Carmella and James Ellsworth continues to blossom on SmackDown LIVE. Carmella, who has continually consoled Ellsworth during his recent string of hardships, asked the chinless wonder to accompany her for her match. Their unique kinship developed even further when Ellsworth intentionally helped The Princess of Staten Island pick up the victory over NXT Supersar Aliyah (in her SmackDown LIVE debut) by holding Aliyah’s foot when she was on the middle rope with the referee distracted. From there, Carmella was able to catch Aliyah with a superkick which was quickly followed by the Code of Silence for the win. Has 2017 found its first new “it” couple? Nikki Bella and Natalya had words Nikki Bella and Natalya’s war of words continued as the two spiraled into deeper hostility as they slung insults each other’s way on SmackDown LIVE. The Queen of Harts continued to question Nikki’s values and ascent while Fearless Nikki implied that Natalya was only where she was in WWE because of her uncle, WWE Hall of Famer Bret Hart. This escalated into Natalya claiming she is better than her uncle and that one day Nikki’s boyfriend John Cena would leave her and that she would die alone. Those were indeed fighting words, as Nikki hauled off on Natalya with a huge forearm, knocking Natalya down and out. The Miz vs Dean Ambrose Following their confrontation in the ring earlier in the evening and then Maryse slapping Renee Young backstage, the stakes were raised even higher for The Miz and Dean Ambrose’s Intercontinental Championship Match. Ambrose was a house of fire right out of the gate, bringing furious flurries of offense to Miz both in and outside of the ring. The A-Lister was able to gain control, however, when Maryse was able to distract The Lunatic Fringe. From there, the two Superstars put forth a thrilling and brutal contest that kept the WWE Universe on its toes. Maryse tried to pull a fast one by slapping Ambrose, clearly looking for a disqualification, but instead Ambrose pleaded with the referee to simply eject Maryse, which is ultimately what occurred. From there, The Lunatic Fringe survived an assault with the Intercontinental Championship behind the referee’s back, then reversed a Skull-Crushing Finale into Dirty Deeds to defeat Miz for the Intercontinental Championship. Results * Singles Match: 'Becky Lynch defeated La Luchadora by submission * '''Singles Match: 'Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth) defeated Aliyah by submission * '''Singles Match for the WWE Intercontinental Championship: '''Dean Ambrose defeated The Miz © (w/ Maryse) Other on-screen talent * '''Interviewer: Dasha Fuentes Media Category:SmackDown episodes Category:2017 television episodes Category:Episodes featuring Becky Lynch Category:Alexa Bliss Category:Carmella Category:Aliyah Category:Natalya Category:Nikki Bella Category:Maryse Category:Episodes featuring Renee Young Category:Episodes featuring Dasha Fuentes Category:WWE television episodes